Murderer's Creek: How It Got Its Name

If you were to stumble on to the trickle of water that meanders down Withers Avenue, you could simply step over it without so much as getting your feet wet. It seems pretty innocuous for a body of water with such a dramatic name.

But Murderer's Creek is a colorful, and sordid, part of Pleasant Hill's past. For it was here in 1849, according to the book Shadow on the Hills by William Mero, that surveyors came upon the body of a native American, hanging from a tree.

The reason? Apparently, in those days, Indian raids commonly targeted horses, and the penalty for getting caught for horse theft was hanging, since the courthouses and jails were yet to be built the area.

Today, Murderer's Creek is pretty well hidden among well-tended homes, parks, playgrounds and open space. But maybe, if you visit at night, you might be able to see some shadows in the moonlight that don't quite make sense. . .